When Will Masking in Clinical Spaces Be Required?

With the transition to fall, school and more time spent indoors, we are keeping a close eye on COVID-19, influenza and RSV rates using UW Medicine and public health data. After an increase in COVID-19 cases through the summer, rates are rapidly decreasing and are below where they were at the same time last year. Fortunately, we are seeing very little RSV and flu, but the trajectory of the respiratory virus season continues to be very difficult to predict.

Masking in Clinical Spaces: Over the last four years, we learned a lot about how masking can reduce respiratory virus infections in hospitals and clinics. When we discontinued the requirement to mask in most of our clinical spaces earlier this year, we indicated that masking was likely to resume during the respiratory virus season. We also continue to work with other healthcare partners, public health agencies and the Northwest Healthcare Response Network to review the thresholds that indicate the start of the respiratory virus season and a return to masking in patient care spaces.

For re-initiating healthcare worker masking in clinical spaces, we will continue to use emergency department diagnoses due to COVID-19, influenza and RSV, as we did last year. These data are collected from all emergency departments through a system called the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE). Public Health — Seattle & King County began reporting these data for King County in September 2023, and updates are posted weekly throughout the year to indicate the prevalence of each virus in the community.

When any one of these viruses is diagnosed at a rate above the alert threshold, we will move to required healthcare worker masking. Once initiated, required masking will continue until all three viruses are below the respective alert thresholds for at least two weeks. For more information, please see the Northwest Healthcare Response Network website and the declaration on masking signed by UW Medicine along with other area healthcare systems and our public health partners.

Regardless of where we are with these specific viruses, routine masking while indoors continues to be strongly recommended in all UW Medicine facilities.

What Will Be Required When One or More Viruses Cross the Alert Threshold? All healthcare workers will be required to wear the highest level of respiratory protection that they can wear comfortably whenever in a patient care space (such as a clinic, inpatient unit, radiology unit or emergency department). At a minimum, this means using a surgical mask that covers the nose and mouth completely. When choosing a mask, you should wear the highest-level respiratory protection that you can tolerate. For example, a fitted N95 provides more protection than a surgical mask.

Stay Home When Sick: If you have symptoms of a respiratory illness, stay home and contact Employee Health via phone or email. You can check for COVID-19 with either a home antigen test or a PCR test. If you test positive, you should complete the UW Medicine Employee Health COVID-19 Contact Tracing Survey. You will receive an email with details about isolation during your illness. For other respiratory virus infections, like colds and flu, please stay home until your symptoms have improved, you don’t have a fever, and you can control any coughing, sneezing or runny nose symptoms.

Free COVID-19 Tests: The U.S. government is offering up to four nasal swab tests per household at COVIDTests.gov. The kits will be shipped directly to you at no cost.

We will keep you informed as we learn more about the current respiratory virus season.

Sincerely,

UW Medicine Employee Health and Infection Prevention & Control Teams